This is South Africa’s first ever defeat against a nation associated with T20I cricket.
Last month, Nepal beat the West Indies in a T20I match. Not once but twice to seal a 3-match series against them. Whoever thought that was astounding, well, get ready to be gobsmacked. That’s because Namibia has just beaten South Africa in what was the first-ever cricket match between the two teams.
Namibia upset South Africa in maiden meeting
The game was being played at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek. Just like it was the first meeting between South Africa and Namibia, the ground was hosting its first-ever international match as well. And, things couldn’t have started better for Cricket Namibia, who are one of the hosts for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
South Africa sent a ‘B’ string team for the one-off T20I match, but they still had players like Quinton de Kock, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Gerald Coetzee, and Nandre Burger. One can’t forget that South Africa made the 2024 T20 World Cup final as well.
After opting to bat first, the Proteas managed to post just 134 on the board. None of their batters impressed, with Jason Smith being their highest scorer, 31, of the day. Ruben Trumpelmann was Namibia’s best bowler, taking 3 wickets for just 28 runs. Fascinatingly, he was present in the middle when Zane Green hit the winning run on the last ball of the match.
This is South Africa’s first loss against an association nation. But Namibia is used to punching above its weight. They have already beaten 3 other full-member nations in T20I cricket: Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka.
Namibia’s batting wasn’t great, much like South Africa, but captain Gerhard Erasmus and Green did their bits. The latter ended unbeaten on 30 and hit the memorable last-ball four.
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